Duong Thuy Vi during her performances on the morning of 15/12. _Thanh Nhan_

Duong Thuy Vi, a decorated Vietnamese wushu athlete, concluded her participation in SEA Games 33 without a medal, a strategic decision made to prioritize her preparation for the upcoming Asian Games next September. Despite a strong performance history, Vi intentionally maintained a high level of difficulty in her routines, knowing it would reduce her chances at the regional competition.

The SEA Games 33, hosted by Thailand, introduced a new format that combined three events – spear form, barehanded form, and sword form – for a single medal set. This format posed a particular challenge for athletes like Vi, whose strengths lie in sword and spear forms, rather than barehanded routines. On 13/12, during the barehanded form competition, Vi made a landing error, resulting in a significant point deduction and a low score of 8,933 points. Following her two subsequent performances on the morning of 15/12, her total score reached 28,153, which was insufficient to secure a medal.

Vi explained her decision to maintain a high degree of difficulty, specifically the 720-degree aerial rotation, which she had successfully performed at the World Championship in Brazil and the World Cup in China prior to the SEA Games. "International wushu rules in 2024 will score 630-degree and 720-degree aerial rotations equally. I chose to keep the 720-degree difficulty for ASIAD. Lowering the difficulty here would have improved my medal chances, but I decided against it," she shared. She acknowledged making errors in the challenging 720-degree movements at the SEA Games, particularly with kicks, which she had not experienced during training in Vietnam or at the World Championship.

Duong Thuy Vi shares her thoughts after the second day of competition.

The 32-year-old athlete boasts an impressive career, including a world championship title, an ASIAD gold medal, a World Games 2022 championship, and 7 gold medals across nine SEA Games appearances. Despite her recent setback, Vi affirmed that this might not be her last SEA Games. "I have never broken a promise. If I can continue competing, I will always strive my best," Vi stated. "For this SEA Games, I chose my own path. I decided to increase the difficulty to prepare for ASIAD, where formidable competitors from China, Japan, South Korea, and Iran will be present. Reducing the difficulty at the SEA Games would make it much harder for the more important arena next year."

_Duc Dong_